French Authorities Use Google AI To Crack Down On 20,000 Illegal Swimming Pools

If you’re the owner of an undeclared swimming pool in France, look out. Local authorities have recently deployed Google artificial intelligence (AI) to help uncover thousands of illegal swimming pools in the country. 

Believed to be worth US$10 million in uncollected tax revenue, the nation could soon expand the technology to snuff out other home additions in the near future, including verandas and permanent pergolas.

According to a report seen by The Guardian, officials revealed they detected 20,356 undeclared pools across the region during a limited test run last year, after teaming up with Google and technology firm Capgemini to invent the system needed to identify these illegal additions via aerial images. 

As the second largest private swimming pool market with over three million private pools, French homeowners are required by law to declare additions to their homes, as it could raise their property taxes. 

However, trying to win one over the system, not all homeowners do so, thus leading to the tax authorities’ rather clever idea of cross-checking land registry databases against the images highlighted by the software. 

Officials told the publication last year’s trial run only constituted nine tax departments in the country, with plans to now expand the initiative nationwide. 

Though, as Gizmodo pointed out, it could take a while for the system to be foolproof, considering its reported 30% margin of error that sometimes misidentifies other rectangular shapes as swimming pools. 

Will tax collectors really manage to claim an additional €40 million (US$40 million) in revenue by spotting new undisclosed swimming pools next year? French homeowners won’t be too thrilled to find out. 

[via Gizmodo and The Guardian, cover image via Rodho | Dreamstime.com]